Dietitian recommends new 2015-2020 Dietary GuidelinesFAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas has the highest adult obesity rate in the nation – more than 35 percent of the state’s population -- and Sabrina Trudo, a registered dietitian and associate professor of human nutrition in the University of Arkansas’ Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, says that can change. She recommends following the new 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans as a way to start promoting healthier lifestyl...

Woman on trial in square dancer’s deathTEXARKANA — Testimony has begun for a woman accused of fatally shooting a fellow square dancer in Texarkana. The Texarkana Gazette reports that 67-year-old Virginia Ann Hyatt is charged with capital murder in the December 2013 shooting death of 59-year-old Patti Wheelington. Crime Scene Investigator Marc Sillivan said during testimony that it appeared as if Wheelington was shot as she sat in a chair on her front porch and that four more bullet...

Conway officer resigns after weapon discharges during arrest CONWAY — A police officer has resigned after an investigation of a January arrest in which his weapon accidentally discharged. The Log Cabin Democrat (http://bit.ly/1PUwkB4 ) reports that Kallen Lacy resigned Jan. 26. Conway Police Department spokeswoman LaTresha Woodruff says Lacy had been on paid administrative leave since the arrest of a man suspected of shoplifting at a Wal-Mart on Jan. 3. The department says Lacy's weapon accidentally dis...

Benton County sheriff charged with tampering with a record BENTONVILLE — Benton County Sheriff Kelley Cradduck has been formally charged with felony tampering with a public record and misdemeanor tampering. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (http://bit.ly/1P2xlDy ) reports that Cradduck was charged Monday. Cradduck was arrested Jan. 19. He is accused of ordering his staff to backdate the hiring date of a jail employee to pay him for time when he wasn't an employee and of instructing his secretary to lie t...

2 teens held without bond in slaying of Little Rock mother LITTLE ROCK — A judge ordered two teenagers held without bond Monday in the death of a Little Rock mother who was holding her toddler when she was robbed and shot while in her driveway this weekend. The two face preliminary charges as adults on suspicion of capital murder, aggravated robbery, aggravated assault and theft of property in the shooting death of 27-year-old Eunice Lopez. She was one of three people who died in unrelated shootings i...

Deer-beating video being investigatedLITTLE ROCK — Arkansas Game and Fish Commission officers say they’re investigating a video being circulated on Facebook that purportedly shows a deer being beaten with a textbook. Officers said Friday they believe the video was made in Arkansas by three Georgia residents and one Arkansas resident. Agents say they’ve questioned one of the individuals and plan to get statements from the other three within the next two days. The investigation beg...

Over $3M in drugs seized on I-40Interstate 40 is well known to be one of two corridors that men and women use to move illegal narcotics through the state of Arkansas. All it takes for an Arkansas State Police (ASP) trooper — or Highway Police Officer, Drug Task Force agent, sheriff’s deputy or local police officer — is to notice a driver following another vehicle too close, changing lanes quickly, not using a turn signal, defective equipment or something else to conduct a tr...

Social Security’s online services secureLITTLE ROCK — “There’s been an awakening. Have you felt it?” This winter, Americans of all generations are awakening to the newest film in the Star Wars franchise, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” Many readers probably remember seeing the first Star Wars film in theaters in 1977. Audiences watched with fascination at the advanced technology used by the Jedi and Sith in a galaxy far, far away. We still don’t have interstellar travel, personal ro...

Report finds missing Arkansas hunter had drowned during stormFAYETTEVILLE — The Oklahoma State Medical Examiner’s Office has released autopsy results for one of the two Arkansas duck hunters who disappeared during wintry weather last month. In a report released Tuesday, the medical examiner’s office said 22-year-old Chase Morland had accidentally drowned when his boat capsized in Kaw Lake located in northern Oklahoma. Morland’s body was found Dec. 28 after he and his friend, Craig Strickland, went missi...

Wal-Mart closings create new food deserts for townsFAIRFIELD, Ala. — An Associated Press analysis shows that the closing of more than 150 Wal-Mart stores nationwide will create three food deserts in Alabama, Kansas and Arkansas. Stores slated to shut down Thursday will leave residents in parts of Fairfield, Alabama; Coal Hill, Arkansas; and Wichita, Kansas, without a supermarket. The federal government considers a neighborhood a food desert if at least a fifth of residents live in poverty and ...

Metropolitan EMS to buy body armor for Little Rock medics LITTLE ROCK — Four days after the fatal shooting of a central Arkansas firefighter, the Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services has made plans to buy ballistic vests for its medics. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/1PDGdTD ) that the proposal received strong support at the Little Rock Ambulance Authority meeting Tuesday. At the meeting, the agency's director of operations showed a lightweight ballistic vest made of Kevlar f...

Fort Smith police search for 2 juveniles in fatal shooting FORT SMITH — Authorities are searching for two teenage brothers in the off-campus shooting death of a University of Arkansas at Fort Smith student. Police say 22-year-old Kaleb Watson was shot Saturday during a suspected robbery at a home in Fort Smith. He later died at a hospital. On Tuesday, police said they were searching for two brothers in connection with the home invasion and shooting death. Fort Smith police say the 16-year-old and 15-y...

Supreme Court ruling could affect 50 Arkansas inmates LITTLE ROCK — A U.S. Supreme Court ruling issued Monday will allow more than 50 Arkansas inmates serving life sentences without parole for murders they committed as juveniles a chance to one day be free, but how that will happen is still in question. The court issued its ruling on a case involving Henry Montgomery, imprisoned for more than half a century for the fatal shooting of a Louisiana sheriff's deputy in 1963 when he was 17. The Supreme...

Girl, 17, fatally shot at Little River County birthday party ASHDOWN, Ark. — An Arkansas prosecutor says a 17-year-old girl has died after she was shot at a birthday party in Little River County. Ninth Judicial District Prosecutor Bryan Chesshir says Caitlin Caskey was shot once in the upper body around 9:30 p.m. Saturday when a 41-year-old woman waived and fired an AR-15 rifle in a roomful of kids at a home in Wallace, near Ashdown. The Texarkana Gazette (http://bit.ly/20qBR3L ) reports that Caskey was...

History Minute: Anderson a pioneer in making movies popularModern moviegoers often go to the movies looking for newer and more dazzling feature for their movies, looking for clever computer-generated graphics, stirring soundtracks, stereo surround sound, and high-definition digital pictures. At the turn of the century, movies offered none of those, only grainy, flickering images without any sound at all. Arkansas native Gilbert M. Anderson became a pioneer in making movies popular with the American pu...

Making informed choices on affordable health care, insuranceLITTLE ROCK — The Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides Americans with better health security by expanding coverage, lowering healthcare costs, guaranteeing more choice, and enhancing the quality of care for all Americans. Everyone is entitled to affordable healthcare. Under the law, a new “Patient’s Bill of Rights” gives the American people the stability and flexibility they need to make informed choices about their health. Some of the benefits ...

Lamar High School graduate fatally shot in Fort SmithFORT SMITH, Ark. (AP) — A college student in Fort Smith has been fatally shot. Fort Smith police say 22-year-old Kaleb Watson was shot at a north Fort Smith residence around 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Authorities say two men wearing black clothing and ski masks attempted to rob him and a woman at gunpoint. An altercation ensued between an armed suspect and the victim, which resulted in multiple gun shots fired. Police received a call regarding a shoo...

Commission considers increasing Entergy rateLITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Public Service Commission is considering a plan that would increase Entergy Arkansas rates by more than 8 percent. Commissioners met Tuesday to discuss Entergy’s proposal for a $133.6 million rate increase. Originally, the utility sought a $167 million increase, but that amount was lowered by more than $30 million as part of a proposed settlement between the utility and several entities, including the Arkansas attorn...

Hutchinson proposes tapping surplus funds for highwaysLITTLE ROCK — Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Tuesday proposed increasing funding for Arkansas highways by $339 million over the next five years under a plan that relies heavily on surplus funds that aren’t a certainty and an effort to tap into general revenue, an idea that’s traditionally faced resistance from Democrats in the Legislature. The proposal unveiled by the Republican governor doesn’t include any of the tax or fee increases suggested by a p...

DHS sends notice to encourage families to complete ARKids renewalThe Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) will be mailing notices to about 42,000 families, with children in the ARKids program who have not responded to previous attempts to renew their coverage. "We want to do everything we can to keep eligible children enrolled so that they can get vaccinations, have well-child check-ups and other things they need to remain healthy," DHS director John Selig said. “So we are taking the extra step of ma...